Friday, June 18, 2010

When the rail line is built from Mexico’s Punta Colonet mega-port to a U.S. “inland port”, Union Pacific won’t be involved. That’s the word from Zoe Richmond, director of public affairs and corporate relations at Union Pacific. In a June 16 presentation to the Southern Arizona Logistics Education Organization (SALEO), Richmond said his company’s plans to develop a rail line through Yuma, Arizona, as part of the Punta Colonet project, are all but dead. He stated simply that Union Pacific is not interested in building in Mexico. “We had a lot of pushback at the local level, at the state level and at the congressional level,” Richmond said. “We had a lot of ‘not in my back yard’ attitude.” Asked about expansion of Union Pacific lines into Mexico generally, Richmond responded, “Don’t hold your breath.”

It looks like two other railroads that presently operate throughout Mexico could be the winning bidders for the Punta Colonet-U.S.A. line: Ferromex and Kansas City Southern de Mexico (KCSM). Ferromex is the largest rail operator in Mexico (route map below); KCSM does not presently serve the nation's western regions.

Several rail pathways are being considered by Punta Colonet planners. Ferromex, a subsidiary of Grupo Mexicano, currently operates a railway whose path could be connected to run north from Punta Colonet to the city of Mexicali. Ferromex also operates a second route, which could connect with Punta Colonet and travel northeast into Nogales, Arizona. Another option being considered is to construct a railway to Yuma, Arizona, which would extend northeast approximately 155 miles from Punta Colonet. This is according to a December 2009 report from the University of San Diego Trans-Border Institute.